


The Night Division

by Karmi



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Police, F/M, Horror, Monsters, Science Fiction, Supernatural Elements, top secret police force
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2020-12-28 01:37:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21128642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karmi/pseuds/Karmi
Summary: After being attacked by a strange creature, Cloud gets recruited by the mysterious Night Division to help fight against them. First, he has to survive recruitment long enough to gain control over his newfound powers, and then he has to confront the things he's lost. But when it's all said and done, will the Night Division be able to rid the city of these monsters before they become prey to something bigger? [on hiatus in lieu of other projects]





	1. Bad Night

**Author's Note:**

> Ooh, do I have two projects going at once? Am I getting too ambitious again?  
Well, a little horror just in time for Halloween right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 12/10: I rewrote a couple of sections to account for a change~

When Cloud walked out of the bar, it was raining.

At first, he didn’t feel the stinging cold of the rain; the alcohol kept him warm. Still, he pulled his coat tighter to him and crossed his arms as he made his way to the subway.

He thought his date was going pretty well until she suddenly got up to leave.

“Sorry, something just came up.”

He figured that was code for “This sucks and I need to get out of here.” When he asked about seeing her again, she gave him a smile – God what a fucking smile – and said, “Can you take a raincheck?" 

_I’m not seeing her again. _

He turned his collar up as the rain worsened. He lowered his head against it. Someone shoved past him, drunkenly cursing him for being in their way. Cloud barely noticed them. 

_I would’ve talked more about her, but she kept asking about me!_ He shivered._ I never talk about myself that much. _

Sirens wailed a few blocks away. He ignored them, used to the sound in such a large city and in his line of work. If he wasn’t three drinks in, he might not have run into a group clustered on the sidewalk in front of him.

On the road, a four-car accident blocked both sides of the street. People gathered, spectating, a grumble spreading across the crowd. Someone was being pulled from one of the cars. They looked unconscious. Another person shouted.

He growled, ready to force his way past them, but realized there was a throng of people stopped on the sidewalk. The sirens from a few minutes ago got louder as they approached the intersection.

“It’s not a goddamn circus,” he muttered. People huddled tightly together as they watched the scene unfold. He cursed, unable to see a way through, and turned down an alleyway. _At least the train runs all night. I’ll just catch the next one._

He continued to hug his coat tightly as the rain dripped down and stuck his hair to his face. _At this rate, I’m gonna be sick in the morning. _He cursed again. _Where the hell did this rain come from anyway? _

He turned down another alley, getting further away from the noisy street. He figured he should be nearing his station. Just another turn…

Cloud stopped, alert. There was a strange noise coming from a nearby alley. He walked forward cautiously, reaching inside of his coat for his handgun. As he approached, he pressed his back against the wall and peered around the corner.

There was someone in the alley, bent over. They were draped in a black coat. The sound was coming from them.

_A hideous creature stalked past the room. He held his breath as it went by searching for its next victim._

He retreated back against the wall and took a deep breath. Cloud pulled out his weapon and entered the alley, pointing it at the figure.

“Hey!”

Whomever it was didn’t respond. They dipped their head lower and ripped whatever was in their hands further apart with a _squelch_.

He noticed then, as he slowly walked down the alley toward it, blood washing down with the rain.

_Blood splattered the walls. There were bodies everywhere, his co-workers and neighbors. He coughed into the blanket as the factory blazed around him, hoping, praying she wasn't amongst them._

“I’m talking to you! Stand up slowly and put your hands where I can see them!”

They paused and slowly turned toward him. Blood dripped heavily from their mouth as they continued to chew.

Cloud saw a half-eaten corpse in the thing’s lap, dead, glassy eyes staring at him.

_His boss's eyes were glazed over, fear and pain forever etched in his face. His body sat limply against the wall in a thick pool of blood. One of his legs had been ripped off. There was a gaping hole in his chest, large chew marks in his right shoulder._

He faltered, his gun shaking in his hands. “What the hell…”

The creature lunged at him, elongating like taffy, talons stretching on the ends of its hands.

He fell backward and fired two shots.

“Get out of the way!” someone shouted, but he didn’t know who.

The thing swiped his gun away from him, gashing him down his arm. He recoiled and tried to get up, but it grabbed him.

There was a flash. Ice struck through the creature’s face. It dropped him, but not before he saw a blue, grotesque visage leering back at him.

Someone rushed in front of him as the creature reared up to attack him again.

Something sizzled. It screamed.

The smell of rancid, burning flesh overwhelmed him.

Rain poured onto his face as blackness seeped over his vision.

* * *

His alarm blared next to him.

Cloud’s eyes snapped open. He stared at the ceiling for a moment as the alarm went off.

_I feel like shit._

He could barely move. He put a hand over his eyes and took a deep breath.

_It’s not like I drank **that** much._

He moaned and reached over to shut off his alarm, wincing in discomfort as he hit the nightstand. He looked up, searching for the clock.

Black, wavy lines flowed around his left wrist. There were also scars down his forearm.

_A distorted blue face looked back at him. Blood poured from its mouth, teeth like daggers and ready to rip him apart._

Cloud gasped, sitting up quickly and grabbing his wrist.

_Fuck. Fuck!_

He stared it in horror.

_It’s real. That really happened. _

He could feel himself starting to hyperventilate.

_What the **hell **happened?! What’s this on my arm?!_

Images began to flash in his mind again.

_Fire. A wall collapsed. Someone called his name in agony, begging him to stop. There was a sword in his hand, covered in blood._

He closed his eyes tightly, clutching his arm to his chest, taking deep breaths.

_What… was that?_

Cloud counted to ten, then twenty, and kept counting until he finally calmed down. Once his breathing slowed, he looked back down at his wrist.

_I’m gonna need to cover this._

* * *

A couple of hours later, Cloud walked into the police headquarters, a bagel in his mouth and coffee in his hand. He’d lost track of time inside his thoughts and had to rush more than he wanted to. He nodded to a few people as he passed them by, before making his way to his desk near the back of the floor. **Det. Strife** decorated the nameplate hanging off of the side.

He put his coffee down and took off his jacket, rolling his sleeves up to his elbows. His gun hung from a holster on one of his suspenders. The jacket went over the back of his chair before he sat down and placed his palm on the trackpad in front of him. There was a hum before the screen appeared in the air before him.

“Yo partner!”

Cloud turned to see a man around his age with close-cropped brown hair and a clean-shaven face emerge from the coffee room.

“Morning Biggs,” he said, mouth full of bagel.

Biggs slapped him on the back as he walked past him to sit down at his own desk. “How’d your date go last night man?”

Cloud shrugged, removing the bagel from his mouth and swallowing. “It was alright.” He took another bite and placed his chin in one hand as he scrolled through the updates for the day. “She asked me about myself, then got up and left.”

Biggs sucked in a breath through his teeth. “Yikes. You talked about yourself?”

“I guess? It was mostly about this,” Cloud gestured toward the floor. “Academy, being an officer, what it’s like being a detective. She just kept asking me about the department.”

“Maybe she has a thing for law enforcement.”

“Maybe.”

Biggs turned around to power up his own computer before looking back at Cloud. “You gonna see her again?”

“Probably not. She asked about a raincheck but… she seemed to leave in a hurry.”

Biggs sniggered. “Damn. You are a bore.” He glanced down at Cloud’s arm. “What happened there?”

Cloud steeled his nerve, almost forgetting about the bandage. His watches weren’t wide enough to cover the mysterious lines. He absolutely could not tell his partner about what he’d seen the night before. He barely believed it himself, except for the cuts and the strange new tattoo he had. 

_And these horrible memories._

“Got mugged on the way home.”

Biggs whistled. “How many drinks d’ya have in order for someone to mug _you_?”

Cloud took another bite of his bagel and shook his head. Biggs eyed him for a minute longer before dropping the subject, going back to his computer screen. They operated in silence for a while, checking their dockets.

Cloud glanced up at his partner, looked at the empty desks behind him, and went back to his screen. He could feel his curiosity itching up his spine. Before he knew it, he was entering terms into the search field.

At first, he only searched for all reported crimes in the past ten hours using the in-house database. That yielded him the standard array – break-ins, muggings, a couple of murders, some morals arrests. He narrowed down to murders and looked through them. All of them were very… normal, and none of them in the sector he was in last night. He tried searching through the news reports and the larger internet to find what he was looking for. He found nothing except for children’s fairy tale stories, some horror novels, and a few links to conspiracy theory sites.

Cloud sat back against his chair and sighed._ I drank more than I thought, and I was mugged last night. Got in a fight. I drank so much I started hallucinating. _He ran a hand through his hair. _But…_

He winced as pain shot through his head.

Biggs glanced over his shoulder at his partner. “What’s up?”

Cloud sat forward and closed his searches. “Nothing… there was a bad accident last night while I was on my way home. Turned down an alley cause people were blocking the sidewalk. I was checking up on it.”

Biggs nodded. “That when you got mugged?”

A door opened toward the front of the floor. “Strife!”

Cloud stood up immediately and saluted. “Sir!”

“In my office. Now!”

Cloud waited until the captain went back into his office before rolling his eyes and letting out a groan. He grabbed a short cord from his drawer to tie up his chin-length blonde hair. Biggs stifled a laugh.

“He’s gonna give you shit for it again.”

“I just got it cut a couple of weeks ago…”

“Pretty boy.”

He grabbed his jacket from his chair and put it on. As he passed Biggs’s desk, he knocked over his trash can. Biggs let loose a string of curses as he scrambled out of his chair from the noise. Other officers glared in their direction.

Captain Veld Verdot was standing behind his desk when Cloud walked in. A tall, fit man in his mid-fifties with graying short brown hair and a goatee, he was intimidating to pretty much everyone on the force.

Cloud closed the door behind him and stood at attention in front of the captain’s desk. Verdot glared at him for a moment before saying, “I thought I told you to get a goddamn haircut.”

“I’ll make sure to get one this weekend sir.”

The captain shook his head. “Whatever. Just do it soon.” Verdot cleared his throat. “That’s not what I brought you in here for.” He gestured behind the detective, who turned around.

A woman was standing in the back of the office looking at a notice hanging on the wall. Her chestnut brown hair cascaded in a long braid down her back, tied at the top with a pink ribbon. She wore a cream pantsuit with a white button-up shirt and brown boots.

She turned and smiled at Cloud as she walked up to him, white-gloved hand outstretched. He noticed a pink handkerchief lining her breast pocket.

His mouth nearly dropped when he saw her.

“Detective Strife, this is Dr. Aerith Gainsborough.”

He shook her hand. “Pleasure to meet you.”

Her smile grew wider. There was a hint of mischief in her green eyes. “The pleasure is mine.”

Verdot motioned toward the chairs in front of his desk as he lowered into his own. Cloud and Aerith both sat.

“Dr. Gainsborough is here about a potential transfer.”

“Of course sir. I’ll do my best to show them around.”

Aerith laughed and Cloud looked at her. “No, I’m here about _you_ transferring to a different division.”

His brow furrowed. “I haven’t put in any transfer requests.”

Verdot sighed. “I know that Strife. But her department has seen… potential in you.” He crossed his hands, looking Cloud squarely in the face. His voice was heavy. “I know you just got promoted to detective last year, but you’ve done a good job. Your past five years in the force have been exemplary. This is more of a… promotion than a transfer.”

Cloud licked his lips, a sudden, sinking feeling of apprehension in his stomach. “If I may…?”

Verdot nodded.

“If this is a promotion, why do you sound like you’re sending me off to war?”

Verdot didn’t move. Aerith answered his question instead.

“Because he is, in a way.” That smile – _that same fucking smile_ – remained on her face. “But don’t worry. We won’t make you cut your hair.”


	2. Welcome to the Night Division

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 12/10: some changes made, like chapter 1

Cloud followed Aerith down a hallway on the same floor. She didn’t say a word, offering no explanation for where they were going. He rubbed his palms against his pants before stuffing them in his pockets.

She turned and placed her palm on a trackpad next to a silver door. He’d never seen it before.

“Where…?”

“…does this go?” she finished. A lock clicked, and it opened. She glided inside. He followed.

“Where did it come from? I’ve never seen it before.”

“You wouldn’t have. It only appears to those with access.”

Cloud turned around to look at the door, now behind him. It was still there, as solid as any door he’d ever seen.

“What…?”

“Quickly!” she sang, still moving forward.

He caught up with her. “I didn’t think that raincheck would be so soon.”

She glanced at him. “Sorry. I’m spoken for.”

Cloud gaped. “W-what?”

Aerith stopped in front of silver elevator doors and pressed the button to go down. She looked at him. “I was interviewing you.”

“You go on dates with people you interview?”

She placed a finger on her chin in thought. “You saw that as a date?”

The elevator opened and they stepped inside. Aerith pressed the second to the bottom floor, labeled **A2**.

Cloud studied the bottom three floors. “I’ve never seen these levels before.”

“You wouldn’t have," she repeated.

He wanted to claw his eyes out. “What, exactly, is going on?”

Aerith shook her head at him again. “Not yet.”

Cloud let out an exasperated sigh and leaned against the back wall. The elevator whizzed down. A minute later, the doors opened to a lobby.

Aerith hurried out and down a hallway to the right. Cloud followed, trying to keep track of everything he passed by. There were multiple screens in the lobby depicting different scenes – parts of the city he assumed. Several people were gathered around them. They paused to watch Cloud and Aerith go by before resuming their conversation.

Aerith opened a silver door. **MEDICAL** was stamped across the front in large metallic letters. She stepped inside and removed her suit jacket.

“Close the door behind you please.”

Cloud did so and waited near the door as she hung her suit jacket in a closet. From there she grabbed a white medical coat and slipped into it, before moving to a shelf with a few instruments and a holographic clipboard.

He observed the rest of the room. There were several practice tables along one side with IV poles next to them. A computer kiosk was at the front on his right, on top of a desk. The desk also held multiple pots with flowers in them. Around the medical office were pots of varying sizes, all with different flowers and plants.

Aerith wheeled a stool near one of the practice tables, clipboard in hand. “Sit up on the table.”

Cloud did as he was told, removing his jacket. Aerith eyed the bandage before placing her stethoscope against his chest.

“Deep breaths,” she instructed. He complied. She moved the stethoscope to several places on his chest, then his back, before hanging it around her neck. She touched the screen on the clipboard and made a note before moving to check his pulse.

Cloud went through the exam without a word. Aerith measured a few other things, checked his reflexes, and took several blood samples. When she was done with her final note, she sat down on the stool and placed her clipboard in her lap.

“Remove the bandage.”

Cloud hesitated. “I’m sure it’s fine. I just changed it this morning.”

Aerith sighed. “You’re not hurt.” When his eyes widened, she said again, “Remove it.”

Slowly, he unwrapped the bandage and let it fall in his lap. She gently took his arm and turned it over, looking at the scars, muttering to herself.

“These healed well… they must have applied the spray immediately…”

“They?”

Aerith waved a hand. “You’ll find out soon.” She ran her thumb down one scar before observing his wrist. Cloud’s fingers twitched as she ran her own around the lines. “Interesting… your Mark is fully revealed…”

“My what?”

Aerith looked up at him with a kind smile. “Your Mark. It’s a symbol of your affinity.”

“My… what?” he repeated.

She let him go and rose from the stool, reaching over him to pick up a small pot with a single flower from the shelf. She placed it on the table next to him and removed the glove from her right hand. Cloud’s eyes widened when he saw a tattoo of petals dancing on the top of her hand. She watched him for a moment before placing her hand over the flower.

The tattoo shimmered a deep green. The flower under her hand glowed before its white petals slowly perked up and grew a few centimeters bigger.

Cloud didn’t hear himself gasp. Aerith removed her other glove and sat back down on the stool.

“I have an affinity for plants.”

He stared at the flower for a few more moments before glancing back at Aerith. “You can make them grow?”

“I can do a lot more than that,” she said with that mischievous smile.

Cloud looked down at his wrist. “So… so I have… some kind of affinity…?”

Aerith nodded. “Yes. Though…” She stared up in thought. “Have you ever been exposed to Mako?”

He shook his head. “Isn’t that toxic? Wouldn’t it have killed me?”

“Likely, yes.”

“Then no. I don’t think so.”

She hummed in response, lost in thought. “Interesting…” she muttered to herself again.

Cloud huffed. “What’s interesting?”

“Your power manifested before Mako exposure and your Mark has fully appeared.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

Aerith nodded slowly. She set the flowerpot in its rightful place before taking his wrist into her hands again. “Usually someone’s affinity doesn’t show up until after Mako exposure. Mako grants… power so to say.” She turned his arm over, observing the underside of his wrist. “Of course, most people exposed to Mako die in agonizing pain because it’s so toxic to the human body.”

“Then how do you have your… power?”

“Inoculation.”

The door to the medical office opened. Cloud looked up to see a man a foot taller than him with tan skin and mid-length red hair duck into the room. A full, bushy beard and mustache covered the bottom half of his face. He was broad-shouldered – Cloud almost thought he had to be a professional athlete. He wore a black suit, and the first three buttons of his white shirt were undone. On the left side of his chest, half-covered by his shirt, Cloud saw a black and orange striped tattoo.

The man grinned at Cloud and reached out to him. His nails were long, resembling claws. “You must be the newcomer.”

Cloud shook with his free hand, trying not to stare at him. “Cloud Strife.”

Aerith dropped Cloud’s arm and stood up. “Are they ready?”

The bushy man flashed his grin at her. “Yes. Is he?”

She removed her stethoscope and coat, laying them across her desk with her clipboard.

“I think he’ll be fine.”

* * *

In a conference room across the lobby, Cloud stood in front of a group of strange-looking individuals all wearing similar uniforms. Some of them he’d seen earlier as he followed Aerith to the medical office, some were new. One, in particular, was an old face.

“Zack?!”

Zack walked up to Cloud and wrapped him in a hug before holding him out to look at him. “Wow! You made it!” He twisted a strand of the blonde’s hair between two fingers and laughed. “It’s been a year and you still refuse to cut your hair.”

Cloud rolled his eyes and pointed at his friend. “Your hair is to your shoulders!”

Aerith put her hands on both men’s arms. “Gentlemen, please. We’ll have time for reunions later.” She squeezed Zack and found her seat.

Zack clapped Cloud on the back and winked at him. “I’ll meet you in the cafeteria after this yeah?” He sat down next to Aerith.

On Aerith’s other side was a man who also had long black hair, held back by a red headband. He wore a white lab coat similar to Aerith’s and several metallic rings on his fingers. He didn’t look up at Cloud, instead engrossed in a screen in his hand. Next to him was a woman, also with black hair, though hers was tied up into a high, loose bun. Her bangs hung around her face. There were deep red accents in the seams of her jacket.

Across from her was an older man with short blonde hair cut close to his scalp, smoking a cigarette. He flicked the ash into a tray near him and took a long drag, nodding at Cloud. A crutch leaned against that end of the table. A young woman with short black hair sat next to him in the same uniform minus the jacket. Large yellow headphones covered her ears. She was bent over a holographic screen chewing on a lollipop.

The large bushy man who retrieved them from the medical unit sat next to her.

As Cloud made to sit down, the door opened. A man with buzzed hair strode in. He was almost as tall as the bushy man, muscular, and broad-shouldered. His beard was neat and cut close to his face. A scar ran down his right cheek and an eyepatch covered that eye. He wore the uniform, accessorized by a pair of dog tags around his neck. 

Everyone stood and saluted with a unified, “Sir!” The man looked at Cloud and motioned toward the front. Cloud internally groaned and stood next to him.

“At ease.” They all sat down but kept their eyes forward. “We’re going to get to the status reports in a moment. First thing’s first, we’ve got a new recruit. This,” he gestured to the blonde, “is Detective Cloud Strife. Hopefully, he’ll be sticking around.”

The girl with the headphones snickered. Cloud wondered what he meant.

“Go ahead and take a seat. Just wanted to make sure everyone got a good look at you.”

“He’d be hard to miss,” the man with the cigarette said with a drawl.

Cloud sat down next to the bushy man. The leader pressed a few keys on a trackpad at the front of the conference table. A holographic, 3D image of the city appeared in the middle. There were several dots in different colors that blinked throughout. A cluster of silver ones was concentrated near the police headquarters. Cloud assumed it was them.

“Put that damn cigarette out Highwind!”

“Why have an ashtray if we can’t smoke,” Highwind muttered. He stubbed the stick out and left it in the tray. “And why the hell couldn’t this wait ‘til tonight? Barely got any damn sleep.”

“You’ll get your sleep in a minute! Got a couple things to go through first.” The man at the front cleared his throat. “Quick introductions before we move on.” He motioned to Zack and moved down the table. “That there is Zack Fair. I know you’re familiar with him already. Next to him, Dr. Aerith Gainsborough, our medical doctor. Then Dr. Vincent Valentine, head of research.”

Vincent gave Cloud a small nod.

“Tifa Lockhart, my second in command.”

_A breeze flowed down the river. A girl laughed as she splashed him. He chased her and tumbled into the dirt when he caught her. _

_When he turned her over, her smile had contorted into a grimace. She was gasping, covered in blood._

Cloud flinched. Tifa stared at him intensely, but her face was blank. She directed her focus back to the man at the front.

“On this side, Cid Highwind, our weapons and vehicles expert. Yuffie Kisaragi, our tech specialist.”

Yuffie flashed a peace sign.

“Nanaki Hunt.”

The bushy man nodded deeply to Cloud.

The man in front tapped his fist to his chest. “And I’m Barret Wallace, captain down here.”

Cloud looked around the table again, repeating everyone’s names in his head. He settled on Tifa for a moment, who didn’t look back at him, before turning his gaze forward.

“Welcome to the Night Division, Midgar’s Clone Dispatch Unit.”


	3. Status Update

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving! I'm grateful to you all who read, review, and give kudos to my work! Here's a gift from me to you~  
12/10: similar changes made, like chapters 1 and 2!

Barret waved in Tifa’s direction. She rose from her seat and came to the front.

_She's... alive._

Cloud watched as she produced a slender object from inside her jacket. She clicked it, and a screen came to life in her hands. The image of the city rotated in response, orienting the northern side of the city toward the front of the room.

“As you all know, this is Midgar. This is what it looks like today, as of an hour ago.” 

Tifa tapped on her screen. The image went black. “This is what Midgar looked like last night around 2200 hours.”

Several red dots flashed across the city. Cloud counted five.

She tapped her screen again. “This was Midgar at 0100 hours.”

Ten more dots appeared across the city. Two blinked in the sector Cloud occupied the night before. He swallowed.

“They’re increasing…” the one in the lab coat – Vincent – muttered as he leaned forward.

Tifa nodded in response. “Over the past six months, the number of Clones we found in a week have doubled.”

“No wonder we need new recruits,” Cid said lazily.

Cloud glanced at him out of the corner of his eye before turning back to Tifa. She continued speaking, but he wasn’t listening anymore.

He concentrated on her face. Her eyes flickered from the map, down to her screen, across the table at someone who asked a question. Her lips were fuller than he remembered. He trailed down her body and quickly looked back up at her face.

A _lot_ of her was fuller than he remembered.

_What happened to her?_

His brow furrowed and he found himself getting a headache.

“Strife!”

Cloud looked up. Captain Wallace was addressing him. Tifa concentrated on her screen. The image was white again, only the silver dots blinking.

“Yes sir?”

“I’m sure you’ve got plenty of questions, but did you follow?”

He nodded.

“Good.” Barret stood at the front again as Tifa sat down. The map disappeared. “Alright everyone, get some sleep. We’ll meet at 2200 to discuss assignments. Strife, in my office in half an hour.”

Vincent leaned over and whispered something to Tifa. Her gaze flickered to Cloud for a moment before going back to her colleague. She nodded her head and got up.

Cloud stood quickly to make his way around the table, but Zack stopped him. The taller man put his arm around Cloud’s shoulders.

“How about we get something to eat?”

Cloud looked at Zack, then back at Tifa as she left.

“Yeah… I’m starving.”

* * *

The cafeteria wasn’t a huge room, with only a few tables that seated four or five each, and a medium-sized kitchen occupied by a woman and a young girl. Zack grabbed their food and sat down with Cloud.

“You weren’t listening to a damn thing in there, were you?”

Cloud blinked as he took his first bite of beef stew. “What are you talking about? And why are we eating stew so early?” he asked after a second bite.

Zack shook his head. “It’s pretty late for us. We operate at night, so this is like dinner. I think everyone else got some before the meeting.” He began to eat. “It’s going to take you a while to adjust to the sleep schedule.”

Cloud nodded and continued to eat. The stew was pretty good. He’d have to make sure to compliment the chef later.

“Don’t change the subject Cloud. You couldn’t get your eyes off Lockhart.”

Cloud nearly choked, stew dripping out of his mouth. Zack laughed, slapping his knee.

“I knew it!”

“Zack, must you be so loud?”

Zack took a few more bites before pointing his spoon at Cloud. “Listen man, I know she’s stunning. But you have to pay attention to those status reports. The Captain’ll chew you out, or worse, Lockhart will kick your ass.”

A tint of pink crossed Cloud’s cheeks as he wiped his face. He gulped down a few more bites before asking, “She fights?”

“Well, yeah. She’s not second in command for nothing.”

Cloud rolled his eyes. _Of course she fights! Everyone here probably does._

“She used to get trained by her dad’s friend…” he said suddenly.

Zack stopped. “What was that?”

Cloud winced and looked up at his friend. “What?”

“You know her?”

The blonde sighed, scratching his head. “Sort of. We grew up in the same town, but I haven’t seen her in... years.”

“Damn.” Zack leaned over his bowl. “How long has it been?”

Cloud kept eating as he thought. “I’m not… sure. Six years maybe?”

“So you haven't seen her since I met you at Academy?”

“Yeah… yeah at least since then.”

They ate in silence for a few minutes. Cloud stared down into his bowl. He knew Zack was watching him, but he didn’t want to answer any more questions about her.

_I need to talk to her. I need to find out what happened to her._

He cleared his throat after a while, thinking of something else.

“So, what happened to you? I remembered you getting transferred to SWAT, but then you disappeared.”

Zack finished the rest of his stew and smirked at his friend. “Aw Cloud, were you worried about me?”

Cloud’s face reddened, now out of irritation. “Well yeah! My best friend went missing in action! I would’ve thought you were dead, but they didn’t have a funeral for you.”

His friend leaned back, eyes wide. “Shit, I’m sorry.”

Another moment of silence. Zack sat his elbows on the table, lacing his fingers together in front of his face.

“About a year ago, we did a raid on this house. Thought it was gonna be pretty easy.” He sighed. “The call was about a disturbance, but the neighbors sounded so frantic they called us up with the officers just in case.”

Cloud put his spoon down and watched Zack. His friend closed his eyes.

“It was anything but standard. When we knocked the door down, there was blood everywhere. The family had been… eaten. Two guys got killed almost as soon as we rushed in. Heads sliced off.” He winced. “That was the first time I ever saw one.” His eyes snapped open, flashing intensely. He stared straight at Cloud. “A Clone. There were actually two of them. Ugly sons of bitches.”

Cloud massaged his left wrist subconsciously.

_Is that what they're called?_

Zack’s gaze did not waver.

“My bullets might as well had been plastic. I didn’t stop shooting until I emptied a whole clip, but they kept coming. I thought I _was_ gonna die, that I’d end up like the family we came to save.” Zack’s eyes softened. “And then, an angel saved me.”

“An angel?”

He almost seemed like he was looking past Cloud now. “Aerith saved me.” He shrugged. “Well, her and Vince. I just remember vines tying the Clones down, and then this man appeared out of nowhere. He shot them both twice in the head. I woke up on a hospital bed surrounded by plants, and she was there.”

The blonde let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. “So she didn’t take you out beforehand?”

“People are more honest in social settings Detective.”

Cloud whipped around to see Aerith standing there. She giggled as she sat down next to him.

“I figured a bar would be a more comfortable space. That way I could gauge you better as a person than if we were conducting a formal interview in a stuffy old office.”

Cloud scratched his arm, uncomfortable. _I flirted with my friend’s girlfriend. _He was mortified by the thought.

Aerith laid a hand on his. “I’m sorry I made you feel like it was a date. I’m sure there’s no hard feelings, right Zack?”

Zack laughed. “None at all. I’m sure if you knew, you wouldn’t have hit on her so hard.”

Cloud flushed. “I… I didn’t!”

She hid her grin behind her hand. “Zack don’t tease him. He feels bad enough as it is.”

Cloud quickly searched his mind for another topic. “What’s inoculation?”

Aerith and Zack glanced at each other, smiles disappearing. Zack rose from the table, collecting their bowls. “I’m going to return these to Shera and head home.”

Cloud watched him go, confused.

“He was just so talkative a moment ago, right?” Aerith said quietly. He turned back to look at her. She sighed. “Inoculation is a Mako infusion process. Zack went through it pretty recently, so it’s… a sore spot for him.”

“Recently?”

“Zack got inoculated oh… six months ago? It’s not very pleasant.”

Cloud gulped. “What happens?”

“Like I said, it’s an infusion. Your body has to adapt to a toxin and your immune system goes crazy. Some die. The Mako burns them from the inside out, among other things. For those who survive, we have to continue a regimen of continuous infusion, or else the Mako will slowly poison you.”

“And we get powers from this?”

She nodded. “Each of us gets some kind of power. Mine is plants, as you saw earlier. Zack’s affinity is lightning.”

Cloud’s eyes widened. “Whoa…”

“Mm, but we also react to Mako differently. So while it grants us some element or another, it also hurts us, the worse being a horrible, painful death. It’s why this division isn’t bigger than it is. Some recruits just don’t live.”

Cloud looked down at his hands. _That’s what the captain meant when he said he hoped I’d be sticking around._

_"_How does it hurt you?” he asked.

Aerith looked up in thought. “Different ways. Some don’t see the effects as curses, but as gifts. When I got inoculated, I became an empath. I can… sense the feelings of those around me very intensely.”

Cloud stared at her. “No wonder it feels like you’re reading my mind.”

She laughed at that, some of the tension of the conversation evaporating. “Yes well, it’s a double-edged sword. I can feel people’s joy, but I can also feel their pain.”

“Does it ever become overwhelming?”

“Sometimes, yes. When I first came to from my inoculation, it felt like… colors and smells were screaming inside my head, but no clear thoughts. With training, I’ve been able to… how should I put this…” She tapped the table with her left hand. “Think about a dam. I’ve learned how to filter the dam so that people’s emotions don’t flood my own. If there are a lot of people and emotions are running high, it can be very difficult. But for the most part, I’m able to sift through it.”

He pondered that for a few moments. “So, what about Zack?”

Aerith sighed. “The Mako messed with his nerves. He can barely feel pain anymore.”

“That has to come in handy, right?”

“No,” she said, exasperated. “He’s reckless. He doesn’t notice when he’s wounded. Treating him is a nightmare.”

Cloud knit his hands together on top of the table. “I can see that.”

Aerith checked her watch. “I should get going. I need to check your blood panel before I head to bed myself.”

“Do people sleep here?”

“Not all the time. Most of us have separate apartments in this sector, so don’t worry about having to break your lease or anything. There are some rooms here for people to just pass out in when they need to. There’s also a locker room for showers and to keep clothes, things like that.”

“This place is like a bunker huh?”

Aerith pat him on the shoulder as she got up. “Yep. Everything we need is here.” She smiled at him. “You should go check in with the Captain.” After giving him directions to his office, she left.

Cloud sat at the table for a while, trying to digest it all. It was almost too much. He especially didn’t want to consider that he might die.

_What the hell have I gotten myself into?_

He rose from the table and made his way to Captain Wallace’s office. He figured he’d get more answers there.

* * *

Aerith returned to her medical unit and picked up her clipboard. She checked Cloud’s stats and sat at her computer, writing a series of stress tests for him to complete over the next few months.

Not long after that, she got a notification about his blood tests. Opening it, she scrolled through it, nodding. _Everything looks fine… except…_

Her brow furrowed as she got toward the bottom. Some of the numbers seemed off. The very last test showed one word in red letters, all caps:

**POSITIVE.**

She clutched her clipboard tightly. _Well that explains a lot… but..._

Aerith typed a few notes into his file before closing the window. She sat back against her chair.

_It couldn’t have been from last night. That Clone barely touched him. It certainly didn’t possess him._ She tapped her fingers against her desk for a few minutes before bringing up another screen and sending a message.

A few minutes later, someone entered. Aerith turned to greet her guest.

“Dr. Valentine.”

Vincent closed the door behind him and sat down on a stool next to her. “Dr. Gainsborough. What did you need?”

Aerith turned back to her computer and brought up Cloud’s blood panel. She began pointing out specific results.

“His tests were mostly normal, as well as his physical. But these… see here? His basic metabolic panel all test within normal ranges. His complete blood count, however, test pretty high – almost to the same levels as us.”

Vincent raised a brow. “Mako?”

Aerith scrolled down to the bottom. Vincent stared at the last result.

“But when?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. I asked him if he’s ever been exposed, and he said no.”

“May I?” he asked, reaching for her keyboard. Aerith nodded. He scrolled up and down the tests multiple times, taking in individual results, before sitting back in thought. “This is unusual.”

“His Mark has appeared. I’m sure you noticed.”

He nodded. “I did. The commander...” Vincent pinched the bridge of his nose. “The commander mentioned something last night when I found them.”

“So you were there?”

“She’d already taken care of the Clone and he had passed out. She mentioned that she saw him… react to it.”

“React?”

“Ice, or something. When the Clone grabbed him, he summoned ice and attacked it.”

Aerith nodded slowly. “So he used it… he doesn’t seem to remember.”

“Or he isn’t aware he did it.”

They both sat in silence, contemplating. After a while, Vincent spoke.

“She knows him.”

Aerith’s eyes widened. “What?”

“The commander knows him. She was so concerned about him, more than I’ve ever seen her with any civilian. She even… used her affinity last night to save him.”

The doctor covered her mouth with one hand. “But she never…”

“I know.”

Aerith drummed her clipboard with her other hand, her leg bouncing. “I knew I felt something from her earlier… How far back do you think they go?”

Vincent shook his head. “Not sure. I confirmed it with her today after the meeting. It’s been a while since she’s seen him. That’s all she said before she went home.”

“She had to know we were recruiting him. Why didn’t she say something?”

“Hm…” Vincent crossed one leg over the other and leaned forward. “At the very least, I’m sure she didn’t think he’d get attacked and be recruited so soon.”

Aerith placed her hand on her knee to stop it from shaking. “Well, thank you for telling me. I’ll make sure to talk to the commander about it later.”

Vincent rose from the stool. “Don’t mention this to the captain yet. I want to give her the chance to do so.”

“Of course.”

“And don’t… don’t push too hard. She didn’t seem keen on speaking about it earlier.”

She flashed a grin. “I know when to stop. Better than anyone.”

Vincent nodded. “Make sure you get some sleep,” he said before leaving the office.

Aerith turned back to her computer. She went through the blood panel once more.

_I’m going to need to run more tests._


	4. Disagreements

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost want to apologize for the length on this one, but I'm so happy with the reception, I'm determined to really dive deep here. 
> 
> Also, if you haven't, go back and read the first three chapters. I made a slight narrative change, so some things in this chapter might be confusing if you don't reread the others.
> 
> Shout out to Nilsine for being such a wonderful beta, as always, and to Denebola_Leo for helping with some world building! Y'all are real ones.
> 
> Anyway, hope y’all enjoy~

Rufus took a sip from his coffee as he contemplated the papers in front of him. Most of the time he thought they were a slog; boring financial reports divided by quarter and going back ten years, along with projections for the next three. It was his job to make sure they stayed on track, and that they snatched as many lucrative contracts as possible.

Since the Executives began their squabbles, however, he’d found the records his father sent him interesting, to say the least. Supplemental material to the finances of the company, he saw in greater detail just where some of the money was going. He was beginning to get a clearer picture of exactly what was going on, and why the Executives were bickering so much. They were like children, he thought, constantly trying to one-up each other in order to prove themselves to his father.

It made him want to laugh.

A knock came at the door.

“Sir?”

He turned to see a woman with a high, blonde ponytail standing at the threshold to his office. The sequins on her red blouse shimmered gaudily against the light, only partially blocked by the jacket of her blue pantsuit. She smiled thinly at him from behind the heavy onyx door.

“Your father would like to see you.”

Rufus nodded, placing his cup on a marble coaster at the corner of his desk with a small smirk. It brought him just an ounce of satisfaction that his father sent an executive to retrieve him.

The Head of Weapons Development must have done something to irritate the President.

“Thank you, Scarlet. I’ll be there in a moment.”

She nodded before retreating.

He rapped his knuckles against the dark stained wood for a moment before shuffling through the papers and gathering them into a folder. He pushed himself away, his high-backed chair gliding under his movements, and stepped from the perch. Rufus straightened his tie, grabbed his white suit jacket from the back of his chair, and made his way for the exit. His bodyguards waited on the other side of the door. One of them, a wild red-head, was slouching against the wall (though he straightened as his boss came into sight). The other, a bald man, had a stoic look on his face as he stood at attention on the other side. He was wearing sunglasses. They were both dressed in dark blue suits, standard issue for the company’s personal security.

“Reno, Rude,” he nodded to them both.

Rude stiffly nodded back as he walked to Rufus’s left side. Reno was on his right.

“Mornin’ Boss,” Reno said in his usual drawl.

“Anything interesting I need to know about?”

Reno tapped his fingers against his thigh as they walked down the glossy hallway. “Well, Hojo’s still fighting with Scarlet and Heidegger about the Project. Mr. Shinra’s getting sick of it. Still not entirely sure what the fight’s about, but Hojo was damn near screaming in President Shinra’s office early this morning about the two ‘imbeciles.’”

“Tseng probably has an idea.”

Reno shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. He ain’t said much about it either.”

“Press him on it then.”

Reno nodded. “You got it, Boss.”

“Anything else?” Rufus asked as they hovered outside of the large, black-stained oak doors of his father's office.

“That detective ain’t decided.”

Rufus raised a brow. “Oh?”

Reno shrugged. “He’s gotta figure it out soon.”

“If I’ve calculated correctly, he only has two days left.”

“You wanna send ‘em the invitation yet?”

Rufus held his chin for a moment. “No… No, let’s wait and see what he does.” His grin mirrored Scarlet’s from earlier as he handed Reno his folder. “My father awaits."

Rufus turned the large silver knob and pushed the doors open. A tall, stocky man in his mid-fifties stood in front of the President’s desk. He was dressed in a dark green suit, and Rufus recognized him as soon as he stepped into the room. He remained near the front, at the edge of a plush, circular rug, and fought the urge to sneer.

The Head of Safety and Operations babbled under the President's stern gaze. Reeve Tuesti, the Head of Risk Assessment, was present, as well as Mr. Shinra’s main bodyguard, Tseng. Tuesti looked almost plain compared to the other Executives in his simple dark gray suit. He occupied the space to the right of the blathering Executive. Tseng was dressed in his navy uniform and stood to his father’s left, eyes focused, his hands at his sides.

“Heidegger,” the President cut in suddenly, “what, exactly, is the point of all this?”

The large man paused, fidgeting with the buttons of his green suit jacket as he tugged on his lapel. “Well sir, Scarlet and I can streamline this Project much better than Hojo can, between our combined budgets and personnel. There have already been two major disasters under his belt, and you recall what nearly happened two years ago!”

Mr. Shinra looked past Heidegger and at his son. He nodded his head. Rufus stepped forward and stood next to Heidegger, his hands clasped behind his back. Heidegger gulped.

“Rufus,” the President said smoothly, “are you up to date on the situation?”

“Yes father,” he answered, tilting his head to the man deeply. “Would you like my opinion?”

“Of course.”

Heidegger side glanced Rufus but refused to look directly at him. Rufus stared straight ahead. The man’s nerves fueled his amusement.

“Why can’t they work together on it? Hojo’s in charge of research and technology. He knows the science. He’s been working on this for most of my life has he not?”

Mr. Shinra gestured to his Operations executive, the light glinting off of his oversized gold pinky ring. “But Scarlet and Heidegger have complaints about Mr. Hojo’s ability to work with others.”

Rufus shrugged. “Force them,” he replied simply. “They have to listen if you order them to, correct?”

His father held his chin in a manner similar to Rufus’s earlier gesture. “Hm, I suppose you’re right. I’ll consider that.” He gave the large man a smirk. “That will be all Heidegger. I will speak with the three of you later this evening. Tseng,” he turned to his bodyguard, “see him and Mr. Tuesti out. I need to speak with my son.”

Rufus looked headlong at Heidegger as the older man turned to leave. He fixed Rufus in his stare, his thick mustache twitching ever so slightly, and allowed Tseng to lead him away.

Thomas Shinra pressed his palms on top of the rich mahogany and rose slowly. He strode over to the glass window that occupied the entire back wall and gestured for Rufus to join him. The heir stood next to his father and gazed out at the skyline.

It was mid-afternoon. The sun angled away from them in the azure sky, but a dusty haze had suspended in the air, partially blocking it. Other buildings reached for the heavens around them, but none were as tall as Shinra Corporation. They were so high up, they didn’t get any of the noise pollution of the busy urban environment, but they could tell it was bustling down there.

“How do the financial reports look?” Thomas asked after a few minutes.

“Good, father.” Rufus stretched out his hand. Reno handed him his papers, and quietly slipped out of the room. “Very good. It looks like our stock will go up between ten and fifteen percent this quarter.”

“Outstanding! And Wutai Industries?” the President inquired.

Rufus’s eyes wandered to a dark building on the other side of the city, all glass and metal like their own, but not as lofty. “Not nearly as much.” He riffled through the first few pages before pulling out a clipped stack. “We also just wrapped up a new contract with the city - one that WI recently had.”

Thomas clapped his son on the back and took the contract from him. “Excellent. Your negotiating skills are improving, I’d say.”

“The city council isn’t difficult to manipulate.”

Thomas stroked his face as he read the first few lines of the agreement. “Speaking of contracts, what do you think about this Project business?”

Rufus remained concentrated on the city below them. A train bolted from this sector to the next, disappearing into a tunnel.

“Heidegger and Scarlet are not as smart as they think they are, and I am concerned they will turn this into a bigger disaster than Hojo already has.”

“You think it’s a disaster?”

He stared at his father now but maintained his blank expression. “I think there are some benefits to knowing what we know about them. But I do not believe they can truly be contained, let alone used...”

“The data we’ve gathered from the CDU has been extraordinarily helpful, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Absolutely.”

“And you still doubt we’ll be successful?”

“If our agent does what Hojo said he should… I think we have a good chance. But I remain skeptical.”

“So you think I’ve made a mistake?”

He watched a vein lightly throb in his father’s neck. It was mostly obscured by the collar of his white shirt and tan suit, but he noticed it. Rufus thought for a moment about his next words.

“I don’t think this was ever a good idea. The costs so far have outweighed the benefits of allowing Hojo to continue his research for all of this time.”

Thomas grabbed Rufus’s shoulder. “Son, I value your opinion. Truly I do. But always remember,” he eyed Rufus with a contemptuous gaze, “everything you have is because of me, and everything you know is because of me. I believe this is the way to the future and so I will pursue it.” He faced the window. “You can go now. I will consult you again tomorrow morning.”

Rufus nodded deeply to his father before leaving. Reno and Rude stood on both sides of the door. He walked briskly back to his office.

“One more day. Then pay him a visit.”

* * *

_Fire belched out of a gaping hole in the wall. He ducked to avoid it, his arm over his head. He was lucky he was able to grab one of the fireproof blankets. He might’ve been covered in burns by now._

_A beam collapsed near him. He turned into the next room as he heard the wispy sounds of one of those **things**. He hid in a corner as it went past. _

_Something twinkled in his periphery. He waited until the creature passed before crawling over to the other side of the room._

_A sword._

_He picked it up and twirled it._

_He could fight them with this._

_He stumbled out, clinging to the blanket, the sword at his side._

_Someone screamed. He turned toward the sound, to his left and away from the exit. He took off. _

_There was another person in this building that was alive. He prayed it was her._

_She sounded hurt. _

_He had to save her._

He tossed around in his sleep, his face contorted in a grimace. It was another few minutes before he opened his eyes. He was gripping his pillow.

Cloud sat up with it and buried his face. It was soft, molding into his features, but smelled like sweat. He exhaled loudly to steady himself.

He’d barely gotten any sleep in the past few days. Ever since he left the police headquarters, he’d confined himself to his apartment, isolating so he could think. He also didn’t want to answer any questions in case he ran into anyone he knew.

_“So I just leave the force? What do I tell my partner?”_

_Captain Wallace shook his head. “**You **don’t tell him anything. Veld will take care of it.”_

_“So he does know about this.”_

_“Several ranking members of the force do. They send us recommendations. Like you.”_

They gave him seven days to make a decision. It had been five.

Five days of constant tossing and turning. Five days of restless sleep and racing thoughts when he was awake.

He felt like he was going to lose his mind.

Cloud looked at the time. It was getting late. As he took in the room around him, he realized there wasn’t much he could see. His thick, dark curtains were drawn, but he knew from the time that the sun had already set.

He threw the pillow across the bed and flopped back down, staring at the ceiling. The bed creaked slightly from the force.

_“We won’t make ya join. But we need all the help we can get fightin’ this menace.”_

_“Why me?”_

_“You’ve got a good record. And you had to have noticed your… unique talent by now.”_

Cloud scoffed, rolling out of the bed. _Unique talent. Right._

He massaged his face as he made his way through the apartment. He didn’t bother to turn on a light until he reached the kitchen, and almost regretted it. The harshness of the fluorescent threw him off, and he flinched. Once his eyes had adjusted, Cloud grabbed a mug from the cabinet over his sink and filled his coffee machine with water. He turned it on. Crossing his arms, he leaned against the counter in thought.

_My affinity..._

He eyed the brand around his wrist. Every time he drifted off, he wished it would no longer be there. That this was all some horrible, lucid fever dream he was having.

And every time he woke up, it mocked him.

Cloud eyed his faucet before filling his mug with water. He stared at it over the sink and held his wrist over the top of the cup. His brow furrowed as his Mark glowed a faint blue. Droplets wavered over the brim.

The coffee machine clicked. Cloud glanced at it and dumped the water before filling the ceramic glass with his favorite dark roast. He blew across the top, remaining against the counter.

_“Why’d you do a physical before asking me to make a decision?”_

_“Precaution,” the captain told him. “You have your affinity already. Best to check our bases beforehand.”_

_He stood in front of the captain’s desk with his hands in his pockets. _

_“What if I say no?”_

_Barret shrugged. “Then we forget any of this happened, and you go back to bein’ a detective.” He eyed Cloud from behind his desk. “If you can.”_

_“What’s that supposed to mean?”_

_The captain grinned knowingly. “One brush with a Clone, and all of a sudden you’re lookin’ up conspiracy theories?”_

_Cloud’s eyes widened. “What?”_

_“Come on Strife. You wouldn’t be able to go back to that mundane shit now that you’ve seen what they’re capable of. Your sense of duty wouldn’t let you.”_

Cloud took a sip, staring across his kitchen and out the living room window. He hadn’t pulled the curtains closed and could clearly see the flashing billboards and signs that littered the city. He was only a few stories up in his apartment, but he felt like he towered over the other residential buildings since he could see over most of them.

_Sense of duty…_

_I was too late._

A headache was coming on. He scowled, taking another sip. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, the captain had him there.

He continued to drink his coffee, letting his mind wander.

_Not the only time I’ve seen what they’re capable of._

Cloud hadn’t thought about that in so long. When he’d come to in Midgar, the first thing he noticed was the pain he was in. His next thought went to everything he’d lost. He remembered his rage, but more than anything, overwhelming despair had cocooned him. Everything – and everyone – he ever knew was gone.

He was all alone. Or so he believed.

A man had come a day later, inquiring about his condition. Cloud had figured he was just some doctor, but the stranger began to fill his head with dreams of moving on, of doing something. There was nothing comforting about him, but Cloud had listened all the same. He’d told that young, distressed kid that he could do some good in this new city by joining the police.

_I can save people._

Cloud didn’t need much more convincing than that.

He sighed, depositing the half-full mug into the sink. It was starting to get full, several other partially consumed cups of coffee occupying the basin. There was a plate or two as well, remnants of food sticking to their surfaces. The lack of variety made him realize just how little he’d eaten over the past few days.

His stomach grumbled at the thought.

Cloud sighed, pushing himself away from the counter and out of the kitchen. He left the light on, determined to come back and do something about this mess.

_I need to get my shit together._

He spent a long time in the shower, lost in thought.

_“The Division’s been around for 30 years. The Clones have existed much longer.”_

Cloud scrubbed his scalp vigorously, then rinsed. He stood under the warm stream for a few minutes, rubbing his head lazily as the suds washed away.

_“We don’t just fight them. We research ‘em. We need to know more about them in order to get rid of them for good.”_

_“What if you never find the answers you need?”_

_“Then we just keep fightin’. Protecting people is just as important as figuring out where these sons of bitches come from.”_

He washed his face.

_Protecting people…_

Cloud shook his head and turned the water off. He grabbed his towel and stepped out, inhaling slowly as he caught himself in the mirror.

Tiny blobs of water sparkled and floated around him. He held his breath as he watched them slowly waver near his skin, beads peeling off.

He exhaled cautiously. The first time this happened was five days ago when he left the Division. He’d taken a shower, thinking that would make him feel better. He was so jolted when he saw his reflection afterward, gravity immediately took over and water spread across his floor.

It had taken him a while to mop it all up.

Every day since then, this had happened, and he’d been able to hold it for a little longer every time. It encouraged him to experiment with his power in tiny doses.

After a minute or so, he stepped into the tub and let it go. The water snaked down the drain.

Back in the mirror, he started to dry off, staring at his reflection. Dark circles were beginning to form under his eyes. He looked a little better after a shower, but he could tell he was paler than usual. He examined himself further. Numerous scars covered his body, most of them from childhood and work. The thin lines from his Clone attack were dull compared to his Mark. His gaze drifted upward. One blemish in the middle of his chest remained a mystery to him. He twisted around to look at its twin on his back. 

_You’d think I would remember something this serious._

And how the hell did he survive it?

_Maybe I got attacked near Midgar. I had it after I woke up… _

He finished drying off and went into his bedroom to get dressed. No point in dwelling on it now.

Cloud started with the dishes in the sink, which only took him a few minutes. Next, wiping the light, granite counters, swiveling around the sink and to the island behind him. He swept, before moving into the living room. There wasn’t much in here to do, since he’d mostly kept to his bedroom. He crossed the room to fold the thick gray blanket he kept on the couch, then threw it across the back. After clearing his coffee table of trash, he moved to his coat closet near the door and took out his vacuum. All in all, it had only been about half an hour when he finished cleaning, and he felt a little better without the clutter. After he shut off the vacuum, he heard knocking.

Tifa Lockhart and Vincent Valentine waited on the other side of the threshold.

Cloud stood there for a moment with the door ajar, vacuum in one hand. Vincent cleared his throat. Tifa’s eyes flickered to his chest, then back up to his face. There was a flash of worry, but it was gone before he could contemplate it.

She spoke first.

“May we come in?”

Cloud swallowed as he held the door open a little wider, yanking the cord out of their way.

“Yeah. Sure.”

They walked past him and into the living room. He closed the door and unplugged the vacuum, folding it up and putting it away.

“Water?”

They only nodded. Cloud went into the kitchen to retrieve some for himself and his guests. Apprehension made his chest feel tight, and he paused before he rounded the corner. Was she here to... talk about the past? But then why bring Valentine?

Maybe this was strictly business. At the thought, he felt frustration coil in his stomach. Why hadn't she spoken to him that day? Why did she leave in such a hurry?

Cloud internally chastised himself for stalling while he jumped to conclusions. He rejoined them, placing his glass on a shelf near the entrance to the kitchen, right next to a leather armchair. He moved to the other side of the room and handed one to Vincent. 

He would hear them out.

“Were we interrupting you?” Tifa asked as she took her cup.

“No. I was just cleaning.”

She was in a black three-quarter sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans. Vincent wore a red button-down and black pants. They weren’t wearing their uniforms, but he still felt underdressed in just his sweatpants, even in his own house. He knew his anxiety was the real problem here, but he felt it necessary to put on a shirt anyway.

“I’ll be right back. Feel free to sit down.”

Tifa nodded and wandered over to the couch. Vincent leaned on the wall next to it and took a sip.

Cloud returned shortly, having slipped into a blue t-shirt. He stood there for a second, unsure of what to say next. Tifa clasped the cup in her lap.

“You haven’t been sleeping, have you?”

He sat down in his chair, facing the couch. “Is it that obvious?”

She tapped her mug with her index finger. “Are you okay?”

Cloud sighed. “I don’t know.”

“It’s a lot to take in,” Vincent said.

He took a deep breath. “Is that why you’re here?”

“Well, you haven’t made your decision yet.”

Tifa glanced up at Vincent, then back at Cloud. “We wanted to see where your head's at. And… try to answer any questions you have.”

He paused for a moment to think. There were so many things he wanted to ask, and half of them didn’t have anything to do with the Night Division.

_How long have you been in Midgar? Where were you before? How did you survive?_

He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, clutching his hands together. “I don’t know where to start.”

Tifa hummed, then looked at Vincent. “Could you give us a minute?”

Cloud watched dark shades pool at Vincent’s feet before tendrils surrounded him. He disappeared. Cloud shook his head.

“Shadows, of course,” he muttered.

Tifa smiled at him. “You’ve stopped being surprised.”

He rubbed his face. “I guess so.”

A few minutes passed before Tifa spoke again.

“How have you been?”

Cloud ran a hand through his hair. “Fine. The force has been good to me.” He tapped his heel against the floor. “Have you… been in the Night Division long?”

She nodded. “Three years.”

“Really? And I’ve never… ran into you once.”

“Yeah well… we have opposite schedules.”

They were quiet again for a while. Cloud watched her as she stared down into the glass. She fingered the rim before looking up at him.

“What happened to you?” they asked at the same time.

Tifa blinked. Cloud hung his head with a sigh, his hands dropping limply between his legs.

“I thought you were dead,” he said quietly.

She chewed on her lower lip, focusing on her hands once more. “I’m okay.”

“Why didn’t you… why didn’t you reach out to me?”

She inhaled very gently. “I didn’t know you were here. Not at first.”

“How long have you known?”

“About a year. When the Division started looking into your file for possible recruitment.”

He felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He stared at her with his mouth open. His leg shook faster.

_A year?_

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Tifa shook her head. “I couldn’t. It… it was better not to.”

His temper flared then.

“Better not to?” He jumped up from his chair. “Tifa, I thought you were dead!”

Her eyes met his again. “Cloud—”

“You didn’t think I’d want to know you were okay?”

Tifa searched the air around him and set her cup down. She got up, making her way from behind the coffee table and over to him slowly. “Cloud, calm down.”

“How can I Tifa? Why the hell—?”

“Cloud.”

He watched her face, trying to find an answer. Tifa tilted her chin behind him. He turned to see the water from his mug floating in a jagged stream over his chair. It almost seemed to be buzzing, spears of liquid haphazardly jutting in and out. Cloud tried to concentrate, but it fell into a puddle on the furniture.

“Dammit.”

He moved past her and into his room to find a towel. Tifa watched him as he wiped the chair down.

“I didn’t know what to tell you,” she explained calmly, but there was a soft edge to her voice, almost as if she was holding back. “I kept thinking of what I would say but… I couldn’t have told you what I do. I would have had to hide that from you. I just didn’t know.”

He got up to throw the towel into his hamper. “Letting me know you were alive would’ve been a good way to start.”

Tifa waited for him to come back before she responded. “I’m sorry. I really am. I was afraid...” she exhaled loudly. “I didn’t know if I could even face you. I thought you were dead too, and then when I found out you were here, and after everything that happened...”

He kept his eyes on her. Now he was confused.

“What are you talking about?”

She looked up at him. “Cloud…”

“Why would you think I was dead?”

Tifa glanced away. “You… you don’t remember…?”

His brow furrowed. “Remember what?”

She bit her lip. As she rubbed her arm, he recognized the tight, reddened skin of an old burn hidden under her sleeve.

“Tifa, remember what?”

She met his gaze. “How did you get to Midgar?”

He raked his hand through his hair again and sat down on the couch. “I… I woke up from a coma and I was here.”

Tifa sat next to him. “How long ago?”

“Six years.”

She glanced up at the ceiling. “You joined the Academy not too long after that then.”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

He glared at her. “Don’t change the subject.”

She bristled. “Cloud, I’m trying to understand.”

“Understand what? Why does it matter why I joined?”

“How do you wake up out of a coma, with no idea where you are or how you got there, and just join the police?”

He scratched his head. “I don’t know, someone encouraged me to.”

“Someone encouraged you?”

“There was a guy after I woke up…”

“Who?”

Cloud snarled. “Tifa, answer _my_ question.”

Her eyes flashed. He knew she was at the edge of her own patience, and it pissed him off even more.

_What the hell do you have to be angry about?_

“It’s important.”

“Are you asking me as a recruiter for the Division, or as my old friend?”

She stood suddenly. “I’m here as your friend!”

The air started to feel a little too warm.

He rose to look her straight in the eye. “Then how come the first time I’m seeing you, it’s for the CDU?”

“I couldn’t…”

“Why not?” he shouted.

A small flame danced on her fingers, before winding its way up her arm. She dug her nails into her palm forcefully, shaking, and raised her hand to her face. Tifa let out a high-pitched growl as she pressed her knuckles against her mouth, and the flame dissipated. It was still so warm near her though, as if the flame was still there. She aggressively tugged her collar to the right and down.

A thin scar ran from the point where her neck and shoulder joined, continuing down her collarbone. He could see the hint of another, thicker scar in the middle of her chest. He remembered how she got that one. But the other...

His eyes widened at the sight. “What happened…?”

Her grip on her collar grew slack. She gulped. “You really don’t remember.”

He reached out, but she took a step back. Tifa let go of her shirt and sighed.

“Tifa… did a Clone do that?”

“Yes,” she answered quietly.

“Here?”

She closed her eyes for a moment, and Cloud could tell she was trying to calm herself. When she opened them, she regarded him with a less severe gaze. 

“What’s the last thing you remember Cloud?”

He didn’t answer immediately. He knew what it was, but it was almost too painful to say. For a long time, he replayed it in his head, that moment, wondering if there was anything else he could have done. If only he had run faster, gotten to her before that horrible creature did…

Yet, here she was.

“The last thing I remember was you… passing out.”

_The last thing I remember was you dying._

She let out a shaky breath. “A Clone followed us into the woods. It attacked us. That’s why I thought…”

Something droned painfully in the back of his mind. He clutched his head and collapsed back onto the couch. Tifa sat next to him.

“Cloud?”

_She wheezed in painful, raspy breaths. He was getting tired, but he needed to get to the next town. He needed to get help._

_He tripped over a gnarled root. They both tumbled to the ground._

_“Tifa!”_

_He crawled over to her. Her distressed, shallow moans sounded loudly in his ears._

_“I’m sorry. Hang on, okay? Please.” He placed his arms under her and started to lift her up again. _ _Blood soaked her shirt and covered his arm. She had so many blisters from the fire. _

_If only he’d found her sooner._

_When he looked down, she was staring at him with hazy, unfocused eyes. Her mouth moved, but no sound came out._

_Her eyes suddenly fluttered closed._

_Something crunched the leaves behind him._

“Cloud!”

He opened his eyes and found her intense crimson gaze. She was holding both sides of his head now, but her hands trembled. Her touch was burning, like she was running a fever. 

_Fire._

“I’m… I’m fine.” His throat was dry.

She held for a little longer. “Have you always gotten headaches like this?”

He nodded minutely and lowered her hands. She let him go and leaned back into the couch.

“Cloud, I came here as your friend. When your name came up, I almost… couldn’t believe it.” Tifa shook her head. “I’m sorry we had to meet again like this.”

He swallowed the lump in his throat.

“The guy who was there when I woke up said the police could use good people,” he finally said after a few minutes of silence. “I felt this need to… help people.”

_I needed to make up for not saving you._

He blew air through his nose harshly. He was still angry. Why couldn’t she have said something? Anything at all. He’d spent so long grieving her, trying to move on, throwing himself into being the best officer he could. And even with every successful mission, with every life he was able to save, the image of her dying in his arms never truly left him.

He decided that for now, he’d let it go. The rush of emotions drained whatever energy he had, and now he found himself too exhausted to continue this conversation.

Tifa seemed to read him perfectly. She stood up.

“I should go. Will you keep thinking about it?”

Cloud sighed. “Yeah.”

He watched her go to the door. A question danced on his lips. As she turned the knob, he let it slip past.

“Why did you join the Night Division?”

She paused, turning her head and speaking over her shoulder. “I want to make sure as few people as possible have to experience what I did. Clones took everything away from me. At least… I thought they did.” Her eyes shone as she met his once more. “I'm glad I got to you in time.”

His eyes widened. “It was you,” he breathed.

Tifa gave him a small smile. “Goodnight, Cloud. I hope I’ll see you again soon.”

He groaned as he held his head in his hands after she left. It was throbbing. He’d lost his appetite.

It had become noticeably cooler in her absence.

* * *

As she walked down the bright hallway, Vincent joined her at her side. If she wasn’t used to his affinity, she might have reacted.

“Will he?”

Tifa didn’t reply as they waited for the elevator. She focused her attention down the opposite hallway as she listened to the dings. Finally, the lift sounded on their floor, and they stepped inside. Tifa pressed the button for the lobby. She was still shaking, she noticed, as she retracted her hand.

“I don’t know.”

He crossed his arms and leaned against the back wall.

“What happened?”

They went down another two floors before she figured out how to respond. “He’s—”

The doors opened and a woman and her son stepped inside. Tifa moved back and stood next to Vincent. The boy stared up at the towering man. Vincent flexed his fingers, and the boy’s beady eyes became glued to his rings. The light shimmered off of them.

In the lobby, he led the way out of the door and onto the street. The boy remained fixated until he and his mother had rounded a corner and were out of sight.

Tifa drummed her fingers on the door underneath the window as she watched the city flow past them. Most people kept to themselves, brushing past each other without a second glance. There was the scattering of couples and groups, but for the most part, people were on their own, just like in many parts of the city. In other sectors, there would be a heavy air of malice or even danger. In this area, however, it was mostly indifference. She’d gotten to know Midgar well enough to read the mood of those around her.

Why, then, was she was still having trouble processing her own?

Vincent drove in silence. He didn’t push, and she knew he wouldn’t. At least not yet.

_I’m glad I asked him to come._

“He’s angry with me. But he… he wants to help. I know he does.”

“Angry?”

“I should have reached out to him.”

Vincent grunted in response. It took a few minutes for them to reach headquarters, near the center of the sector. They drove into a hidden underground parking garage. He swiped his badge at the gate and continued inside.

“Why didn’t you?” he asked as he parked.

“Too complicated.”

Vincent side-glanced her but said nothing.

Tifa sighed. “I wasn’t sure I could confront him if I ever saw him again. And honestly, I… didn’t think I would have to.”

His face remained blank, but his eyes were curious and reflective.

“What?”

“You’ve mentioned before how your town was destroyed by Clones. Your reason for joining was because you couldn’t save everyone.”

She nodded.

“Him included?”

She crossed her arms and gave him another small nod.

He waited a beat before pressing further.

“Is this… when he was exposed to Mako?”

Silence. Then: “Yes.”

Another moment passed on the elevator.

“If he doesn’t join, what will you do?”

She leaned her head back against the wall. “I haven’t thought about that yet.”

_But I need to keep an eye on him either way. I have to make sure… it’s him._


End file.
